


Does it breathe Fire?

by whiteraven1606



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Baby Dragon, Developing Relationship, M/M, Polyamory, Revelations, Telepathy, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-01
Updated: 2014-01-01
Packaged: 2018-01-07 01:49:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1114089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiteraven1606/pseuds/whiteraven1606
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rodney would tell you all that it is John's fault. The telepathy, the little sharp toothed monster, the nearly spilt coffee, all of it was definitely Sheppard's fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Does it breathe Fire?

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the SGA Santa fest on LJ for Kitchyy. Originally posted at http://sga-santa.livejournal.com/441818.html
> 
> The telepathy is denoted by : used just like normal quotation marks.

****

"I can't believe you managed to get yourself attached to a...a..."

"Dragon?" John dropped one leg under himself and slid down the hillside as Rodney stumbled down it beside him.

"Yes! Dragon, creature, whatever. It nearly bit my hand off and then it told me it likes me. I blame you, Colonel."

"He didn't try to bite you. He was trying to smell your hand." John squinted back towards the small city they were fleeing from and frowned as the guards that had been chasing them stopped short at the top of the hill. "Rodney..."

"What? I'm moving." Rodney turned his head and jerked to a stop. "Why'd they stop? I thought they were yelling for our heads."

"Your head." John glanced around as he adjusted how his weapon was sitting. "You see anything?"

"No." Rodney tapped the life-signs detector and frowned at the men milling at the top of the hill. "Not good, is it?"

John lifted his weapon to point towards the dragon that had latched onto him came from the trees. "Shit."

The dragon whipped his tail back and worth as he gently butted Rodney in the shin while fluttering his wings.

"Oww. What? What did I do to deserve this?" Rodney shoved on the dragon's head and then glared as the dragon wrapped the tip of his tail around John's calf. "Did you just tell me we're...what! No! You stop that right now."

"Rodney?" John gently pulled his leg loose from the dragon's hold.

Rodney looked spooked as he waved his hands around. "Didn't you hear it just now? It talks. And...you heard it!"

Shaking his head, John glanced back up the hill and then at the dragon smirking, yep that was defiantly a smirk, up at him. "Uh...no."

"No? What do you mean..." Rodney stopped talking and looked from the dragon to John and back again. "Oooh." He bent down and grabbed the dragon's snout and pulled the dragon's head around to face him. "No. You stop it. I don't have time for a telepathic baby dragon gossiping in my head."

"Telepathic?" John grabbed Rodney's arm to keep him from moving the dragon more as the men at the top of the hill started to look agitated. He made a note to ask Rodney about the gossiping thing later. "Rodney, no hurting the sacred baby dragon. It might..." John lifted his eyebrows. "It might breathe fire."

"What? That's stupid. An organic can't just...Oh. Ha, ha, Colonel." Rodney patted the dragon just behind his head. "No. He isn't making fun of you. He's just being a jackass to me because he...No, no. Stop with the telepathy."

The dragon rubbed his cheek against John's knee.

Rodney sighed. "Fine, but I'm not relaying for you for forever. You'd better figure out John's shields or whatever you just meant with that word that doesn't sound like a word very quickly."

John gently pushed the dragon's head down as it nosed at his weapon. "Rodney, are you telling me that you are hearing this little guy's thoughts?"

"Don't mention it." Rodney squinted up the hill at the guards. "Do you think they're going to kill us?" He looked down at the dragon. "Oooh. Well, why didn't anyone just say that?"

John stared after Rodney as he started back up the hill with the dragon trailing along behind, even as he turned his head to keep John in sight. "Say what exactly?"

****

Carson carefully checked his supplies as the check-in time for Sheppard's team moved slowly closer. Everything he'd need to handle any mundane injury was lined up and ready to go. 

As long as the team didn't come back with another injury Carson had never seen before he should be able to keep his dinner date with Rodney. He'd have to remind Rodney about it during the post-mission check though.

The announcement came through that said Sheppard's team was coming through the Gate on time.

"Oh, dear." Carson powered up the medical scanner. It'd be something he'd never seen if they were coming back on time. They never came back on time.

Carson drank the last of his coffee so Rodney wouldn't steal his cup again as he fussed with the scanner. He still didn't like that it would sometimes fudge the Colonel's readings because it liked listening to Sheppard better than it liked him.

As the minutes passed and no one called for medics to the Gateroom, the more Carson relaxed and worried all at the same time. He fidgeted with the bedsheets on the gurney next to the scanner and watched the door.

He felt he'd been ready for practically anything other than a dull white dragon scampering through the door while clinging to the ceiling like it was the floor. Backing up, Carson started to reach for his earpiece to call for help when Sheppard's team came through the door.

"Hey! You get down from there. Don't scare Carson."

The dragon looked down at him with a grin showing some very sharp looking teeth. :Pretty mate.:

"What?"

Rodney sputtered. "No!" He hurried over and shook a finger at the dragon. "One, come down. Two. No more talking about mates!"

Sheppard made a pained expression as he leaned against the gurney just behind Rodney. "Mates, Rodney?"

The dragon dropped onto the medical scanner bed. :SpikyHair love LoudBrave like Prettymate love, yes, yes?:

Carson looked on as Rodney buried his face in one hand. "He's telepathic with you, Rodney?"

John smirked. "Rodney touched him first, but the little guy was headed for me. So there was something of an uproar."

Teyla pushed in beside John to get a look at the dragon as it nosed Carson's pockets. "The people of the dragon planet have never allowed any offworlder to see their dragons hatch."

Ronon pushed himself up onto the gurney to sit. "Thought they were just a story until Sheppard hurried out of the meeting."

John twitched. "I thought I heard an Ancient tech nudge, but I, uhm, accidentally ended up in the middle of a bunch of eggs."

Teyla nodded. "Rodney, of course, followed John."

Carson could feel the beginning of his headache he usually blamed on Rodney making him worry. "Of course." He reached out gingerly to touch the dragon's head.

The dragon shoved his head up into Carson's hand. :Ooooh. Like!:

"That's called petting." Rodney scrubbed his hand over his face. "Ugh. I'm talking to an animal. I'm going to my lab."

The dragon snorted and rubbed his head against John's stomach. :Tell my SpikyHair I want food...: The dragon narrowed his eyes and turned his head to watch Rodney stomp out the door. He turned back to stare up at Carson. :...please?:

Carson sighed. "He'll come around once he gets used to the idea of you. Do you have a name?"

The dragon butted his nose against Carson's hand.

John's fingers joined Carson's along the dragon's jawline. "He's going to be small they said. Big enough to carry a person, but not as big as the other colors I saw."

Carson nodded. "He said to tell you he's feeling a bit peckish."

John tilted his head and smiled. "Peckish, huh?" He tugged gently on the dragon's ear. "Alright. Come on. We'll get some food and go bug Rodney. You have to be careful in Rodney's lab and no frightening Doctor Z, okay?"

The dragon's tail waved around as he fluttered his wings while he pushed himself up onto his hind legs. :Careful in LoudBrave's cave, yes.: He looked at Carson.

"He said he'd be careful. Why can I hear him?"

John shrugged with one shoulder. "Best I could get out of them was that Ancients take longer to establish bonds."

:Thick walls.: He put his forepaw on Carson's boot as he dropped back to all-fours. :LoudBrave have thinner walls. Prettyhair have short thin walls.:

"Uh." Carson watched the dragon as he sniffed at John's boots. "What about everyone else?"

The dragon blinked as he lifted his head and looked at Ronon. :Quiet, quiet.:

John looked expectantly at him so Carson shrugged.

"He says everyone else is quiet. I don't know what he means, Colonel."

"Yeah." John flapped a hand at the medical scanner. "So, we good to go? I need to feed him."

Carson shook his head. "You'll at least sit still long enough for me to check you over." He tried to ignore the dragon staring at everything as he reached for a blood pressure cuff.

****

Rodney noted that he quit hearing the dragon's telepathic thoughts at the hallway just beyond the medical wing. Not fast enough to miss the dragon's chatter to Carson. He stomped into his office and pulled a pouch of coffee from his desk to put into the coffeemaker just outside his door.

Zelenka looked up for his computer. "Go badly?"

"No one died." Rodney slumped in a seat across from Zelenka as he waited for the coffee to brew. "John ended up with a pet that can only talk through telepathy and it likes talking to me. Teyla and Ronon spent most of the morning in jail. The pet talks to Carson too and I'm explaining it away as an ATA gene thing."

Zelenka took his glasses off to clean them. "Pet? What sort of pet?"

"Oh, that's the best part. Dragon. It's the size of a small pony."

Blinking, Zelenka put his glasses back on and looked Rodney over carefully. "Dragon?"

"Yes! Dragon. Wings, sharp teeth, tail that's always moving, dragon."

"Does it breath fire?"

Rodney facepalmed. "Shut up." He watched Zelenka grin through his fingers. "You'll be singing a different tune when it chomps my hand off."

"Do you think dragon will hurt you?"

Rodney dropped his hand as the coffeemaker beeped. "No, yes. Maybe? It's like a giant cat with wings."

"Ah." Zelenka joined him at the coffeemaker for his own cup. "Cats like you, yes?"

"Usually." Rodney frowned down at his cup. "It just...I'm pretty sure it could hear my thoughts too. It wouldn't know why it shouldn't share them with Carson or John when it gets that worked out."

Zelenka sat his cup down gently. "It is that bad in your head?"

"No." Rodney wrung his hands for a moment before forcing himself to stop and wrapped his hands around the cup. "I, uh, might have a few, some, thoughts that I don't want just...handed around."

"Ah. As everyone would." Zelenka watched him as Rodney started to take a drink of his coffee. "Like your...What is it called, crush? Yes, crush for Sheppard?"

Rodney chocked on his coffee and nearly spilled the cup. "Crush on Sheppard." He glared at Zelenka. "You...How?"

"You are not subtle." He shrugged and handed Rodney a rag to wipe the side of his cup with. "Neither is the Colonel, of course."

Rodney blinked as his worldview resettled into a new picture. "What?"

The door whooshed open and the hateful little dragon bounded through followed by Sheppard carrying food trays.

"Remember to be careful, Montague."

Rodney narrowed his eyes at John. "Montague?"

John smiled. "Yeah. It's from a story I read once. Montague was put on a no-human diet by his wife."

"Don't give it ideas, Sheppard."

The dragon made a rude sounding noise and pushed his snout up against Rodney's elbow.

"What? What do you want?"

John settled the food in front of Rodney. "He's hungry, Rodney. I only gave him a roll on our way down."

"Bread probably isn't good for it." Rodney looked over the two trays and tore off a chuck of meat from the plate Rodney deemed the dragon's dinner. "Here. Don't snatch it. Let me drop it."

The dragon watched the meat avidly until Rodney released it and just a scant moment later snapped it up.

Rodney jerked back and reached out to grab John's sleeve. "Here, Sheppard, you feed it."

"Him." John offered the dragon another bite. "I think Elizabeth is going to kill us, just so you know."

"You, not us. It wasn't my fault at all you heard a dragon hatching and went to investigate."

John grinned up at him as he knelt down to offer the dragon another bite. "Sure. She doesn't like that I named him either."

Rodney cut into his own meat. "Did she say you could keep him?"

John glanced up at him and rubbed at the dragon's neck as he chewed. "She's not happy, but the City responds to him so she said as long as he isn't a burden to feed we'll see."

With a shake of his head, Rodney gathered up a spoonful of his potatoes. "She's soft, I'm telling you."

Smiling, John pushed up to his feet and clapped Rodney on the back. "No more than some other people I know." He sat down and watched Zelenka work on his computer. "Carson asked me to remind you that you're supposed to eat with him tonight."

Rodney nodded. "Right." He swallowed. "Uhm, has...Montague...That's a horrible name for a dragon, Colonel." He frowned. "Has he started talking in your head yet?"

John's expression went to that carefully neutral blank that Rodney hated to see and hated even more to cause. "Not yet. Carson says Montague says it just takes time for some people."

"Right." Rodney shoved more food into his mouth so he could keep himself from insulting the little death machine out loud for John to hear.

****

Later that night, Carson snuggled his nose into Rodney's back, careful to keep the puffs of his breathing off Rodney's neck. It had been a good dinner and Carson savored the memory even as he soaked up Rodney being relaxed in sleep against him.

Their door beeped quietly and whooshed open. Lifting his head, Carson frowned as John slipped inside with the dragon leading him.

Sitting up, Carson started to shake Rodney awake when John grabbed his wrist.

"Doc, could we..." John frowned glanced at the dragon and pursed his lips. "Uhm. Don't wake Rodney yet. Please?"

Carson looked at the dragon with his wings pulled in tight and holding himself like he was guilty. "Oh." He nodded. "Yes, of course."

John settled onto the end of the bed. "He, uh, told me that you and Rodney have...uhm..."

Carson rubbed his hand through his hair. Neither of the others were good with talking about personal things. It would be up to Carson to be the brave one here. "We've talked about ye, yes." He took ahold of John's forearm to keep him from bolting. "You're smart. He likes that." He smiled easily. "And I like that you're very pretty to go with the intelligence."

John looked like he'd been hit with a Wraith stunner. "Huh." He blinked several times and then made a face a the dragon. "No, that wouldn't help, Montague."

Carson smiled as he rubbed his thumb in a small circle on John's skin. "What did he suggest?"

John ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand up even more than normal. "That we should all be...together."

Smiling, Carson pulled John down into the bed with them. "Sleep. We'll give Rodney a minor heart attack in the morning. Monty, you may sleep on the floor, not on the bed because it is a wee bit too small with the three of us as it is."

Montague snorted and curled up against the side of the bed Rodney was sleeping on.

"Uh, Doc..."

Carson cupped the back of John's head. "You wouldn't have come in the middle of the night if you didn't at least want to try something with us."

John pushed into Carson's hold as his eyes closed partway. "Well, there is that, yes. I just...you took it really well?"

"Oh, I've had plenty of time to think on it. I've been trying to get him to invite you for a while now."

"Why that way? Why not just ask me yourself?"

Carson kissed the top of John's head as he slowly relaxed. "I wanted to win the pool on it." He settled in as John chuckled.

****

Rodney let his hand slip off the side of the bed to stroke Montague's eyebrow ridge as John chuckled. :Thank you.:

Montague made a noise almost like a cat's purr. :Happier, yes, yes.:

Rodney patted Montague's head gently as he let himself drift to sleep listening to John and Carson whisper.

****


End file.
